Lady Gaga concert is a flaming riot

Divisive, is old Stefani Germanotta. Some of us stick her squarely in the ‘would’ category. Others think she’s a starry-eyed, angular dressed lunatic with odd syntax and far too many rumours of penis ownership. (So: a ‘definitely would’ for our squaddie readers, then.) But with nearly 40 million singles sold worldwide, this 24-year-old New Yorker is here to stay. And even the naysayers must agree: after her Rolling Stone cover (where she only wore bubbles) and her leztacular Telephone video with Beyonce, her services in raising general world tartiness are to be lauded.

These latest pictures are from her recent concert at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where thousands of her fans all turned up in copycat fishnets and leotards. Gaga announced, “The Monster Ball is sexual freedom. Tonight in Los Angeles we’ll be super freaks and monsters,” before performing 19 songs, 17 costume changes and sweating enough to drown a small pig.